Food and Fire
by Marmalade Fire
Summary: When Lucy, a waitress, helps an old man she certainly didn't expect it to lead to anything. Especially not teaming up with his idiot adopted grandchild to create the restaurant of their dreams. AU: NaLu. (And more)
1. An old man and a pink headed stranger

**A/N: Guess who's back. It's been awhile. I took a long break, not writing at all for over a year. It's kind of sad, thinking about it. I just couldn't do it. Felt impossible. Struggled with a few things as well. Yet, here I am once again. Hopefully not giving up this time.**

 **Anyway, I hope you guys will enjoy this story. It's supposed to be a lighthearted, simple story. I don't want to write anything serious or depressing right now. I might change the rating to M. I have some possible lemons in mind, which go well with the story. For now, it's T, since I haven't actually written things like that in the first place. I'm not sure if I'm going to. We'll see.**

 **If you have any feedback, please let me know! I'm always looking for ways to improve.** **Enjoy3**

It was a chilly, yet beautiful day. Lucy stood outside, rewriting something that looked like a sign for a restaurant. She stretched her arms and yawned, with a bored look on her face. In fact, she was a bit bored. It was early in the morning, she was at her work, prepping the restaurants to open in a few hours. It wasn't something horrible to do. In fact, she quite liked to work here. In this place called "Angel feathers". It was a simple, local restaurant. It wasn't very popular, but made enough to go by. There were always guests who kept returning to the place and that is exactly what Lucy liked about it. The simplicity. She just didn't like working all by herself. Her boss, Solano, was out. Shopping or something. Lucy didn't really pay attention to her this morning. Meaning the bombshell blonde was alone. Her co-workers had yet to arrive, they had to work when Angel feathers actually opened.

This morning might sound like a typical quiet start of the day. But for some reason it wasn't. Lucy had this nagging feeling in her stomach. Something was about to happen. Something big. She couldn't place her finger on what it could be. It is not like she had planned something exciting or something new. Not at all.

What she didn't realize is that her life was indeed about to change.

It all started with a collision, an old man and his love for food.

It happened rather quickly. The sound of someone screaming, things falling on to the cold and dirty pavement. An old man, bruised fell to the ground. Someone collided into him, yet didn't even bother to help the poor man. Most people didn't, so it seemed. Lucy saw what happened and didn't doubt for a second. She wanted to help the man. The girl might not be the smartest person, or the prettiest, or the most rich. But she did have some manners. At least, she likes to thinks so.

She ran towards the man. It was a short man. Grumpy, yet somehow, funny looking eyes. A big white mustache covering his upper lip. A small stream of blood ran down the side of his head. Lucy gently put her hands on the shoulders of the now sitting man.

"Sir, are you okay?" Concern overwhelmed her high pitched voice. The man let out a weak smile.

"It's alright young lady. Could you be a sweetheart and help this old man up?" Lucy nodded and smiled, with a friendly look in her eyes. She somehow liked the old man. He had a good vibe about him. Not something she'd notice normally, after such a short amount of time.

The blonde carefully lifted the old man on his own feet. She stood still for a few seconds and took a decision.

"You should come with me" She gestured towards the building in which Angel feathers was located. "To take care of your wounds."

The old man shook his head stubbornly.

"No, I'm alright. These scratches are nothing."

"I insist." Lucy wouldn't take no for an answer. The man looked quite fragile and she wouldn't want to have it on her consciousness if he'd fall ill because of this. Or worse. The chocolate eyed girl simply didn't want anything bad to happen. Her mother always told her to be kind and caring towards others, even if they were strangers. It's a mantra Lucy had been telling herself over and over

After resisting for awhile, the old, white haired man finally gave in and Lucy escorted him inside of the Angel feathers. She took down a chair for the man. Most chairs were still resting on the tables. It didn't take long to clean up the scratches the old man had. Luckily, they weren't deep. His stuff wasn't damaged either. He told her his name was Makarov. Makarov Dreyar. His name wasn't an unknown name in the city of Magnolia. Lucy hadn't been living here for a very long time, yet she knew him as well.

He was the CEO of the Fairy tail group. It's a company that resolves around restaurants and foodshows on television. Most of the famous chef's with their own show worked under this company. Lucy especially admired Mira-Jane. She was a gorgeous former model with mad cooking skills. Her show was lovely to watch.

Yet Makarov Dreyar didn't seem to be so impressed about his company. He talked with a nostalgic look in his eyes about his first restaurant. The love and warmth coming from his voice made it a lovely story.

How he took over a small restaurant from an old friend. Mavis was her name. He brought the restaurant back to live. It was a true family restaurant.

"Sometimes, I wish I could go back to those days." He stared at his hands. "But things have changed. I have changed. I'm too old to open such a restaurant again anyway."

"Can't you ask one of your grandchildren to help you out?" Lucy said, with a hesitating tone in her voice. She didn't want to upset the old man. The subject seemed a bit sensitive.

"That's an idea..." The man mumbled. "Those brats are too busy with their lives anyway." The blonde stayed quiet. She felt that it wasn't her in her right to meddle any further in Makarov's business.

"Thank you for the help, young lady." He stood up from the black chair he was sitting on. "It's no problem, mister Dreyar. It's simply the right thing to do." The man showed a somehow youthful grin and laughed.

"Yes, I guess you are right about that." He picked up his jacket and put it on again. "By the way, what was your name again?

"Lucy. Lucy Heartfilia."

"Well miss Heartfilia, I shall no longer keep you from your job. Until we meet again!" The man waved as he left the building.

The rest of the day was like a normal day. It wasn't too busy. Just a regular day at the restaurant. Lucy couldn't quite shake the feeling that something was going to happen. Solano didn't show up for the rest of the day. This meant Lucy was in charge. She was the assistant manager of the place anyway. Along with Yukino and Minerva, her co-workers, she handled all the wishes of the guests. The wishes for food and drinks. Don't get any strange ideas about it. The chef Eric and his assistant Kinana handled everything in the kitchen. Lucy originally applied as a chef, but since she didn't have any diploma's, that dream wasn't going to come true just yet. Solano was kind enough to hire Lucy anyway. As a waitress in the first place. She worked herself up as assistant manager over the past year.

As she went home to relax and take a long, warm bath. Her sore feet dragged her towards her apartment. It wasn't like it was a hard day, yet she somehow felt exhausted.

She was about to enter her apartment, with her keys in her hand when she noticed him. A salmon haired man in a black, expensive looking suit. And he walked towards her.

"Lucy Heartfilia?" She nodded slowly as her eyes kept following the man who took a few steps towards the blonde.

"I'm here to personally pick you up and escort you." Lucy eyed the man with the strange hair colour suspiciously.

"To pick me up for what? Where do you want me to go?" She asked. Her voice raised a little. She couldn't help it. It was just too strange.

"To meet with gramps. Duh."

And before she could protest, he'd already picked her up and thrown her over his shoulder. This man wasn't going to take no for an answer.


	2. A new chance

**A/N: A bit quicker than I had originally planned, but who cares. I love it when people update stories fast, so why can't I do that for a change? I do feel I rushed the first chapter a little bit, I intended the story line to flow a little bit more slow. The introduction and the arrival of the pink haired man weren't supposed to be that close to one other. Somehow, I'm okay with it. This way I can slowly fill you guys in on the past lives of Lucy/Natsu and everyone around them.**

 **This chapter is not quite what I want it to be, might edit it and clean things up later. It's alright for now. I don't like introducing stories anyway. You have no idea how much I'm looking forward to write the scenes I have in mind for the next chapters.**

 **I suddenly have this incredible urge to write a Harry Potter/Fairy tail cross over. FT characters going to Hogwarts. But meh. I want to finish this story first, before starting a new one.**

 **Thank you so much for the reviews. I really appreciate it. To answer the review from 'JustCurious': Yes, that is going to happen!**

 **Feedback is always welcome! I hope you guys like chapter 2.**

"What is this place?" Lucy asked, breathlessly. The pink-haired man stood beside her. They stood in front of this huge mansion. It was probably even more big then what they were able to see right now. Little lights illuminated the garden surrounding the white mansion. It looked like something that could've been in a fairy tale. She had never seen such a place in her entire life. Well, on television maybe. But not with her own eyes. Not like this.

"Gramps place." He started to walk on the path that led the way up to the front door. "I told you I was going to bring you to gramps." Lucy sighed and quickly followed the tanned male.

"How am I supposed to know who Gramps is?" Lucy asked. She wondered why she even got in the car with this man. The blonde hoped she wasn't going to make a terrible mistake. This man however... Lucy had the feeling she could trust him. She didn't think he'd be some kind of creep or pervert. If he wanted to do something strange with her, he probably would've done it already anyway. He had chances enough. Seeing the property and his iron motivation to get her there. It felt safe. A feeling Lucy hadn't experienced in awhile.

Once inside, Lucy was dazzled by the property. It was beautiful inside. Art and expensive stuff everywhere. Yet it didn't feel like some kind of museum. Her apartment could probably fit five times in the hall alone. It felt quite homely. Especially since it wasn't as clean as what you'd expect. The hall was, yes, but as they entered a room which seems to be a living room that changed. There were a lot of personal items scattered around. It wasn't incredibly messy though. It felt nice. Like an actual home. Something Lucy never associated with mansions like this one. She had always though it would be lonely in a big place like this. That it'd be cold and distant. Sterile is maybe a good word to describe it. What she found here didn't quite meet her expectations. Let's say it was a pleasant surprise for the busty blonde. She wondered what the rest of the house would be like.

There was a large, deep red sofa in the middle of the room. A small wooden table was standing next to it. Just across the the sofa was a big chair. The cushions were made of the same fabric the sofa was. There was an old man sitting on the chair. Lucy couldn't see his face right away. When she did she was pleasantly surprised. The blonde recognized the old man in the chair as Makarov Dreyar. The one she helped out earlier that day.

"Miss Heartfilia, welcome." A content smile appeared on Marakov's wrinkly face as he gestured towards the red, almost a blood red, sofa. "Have a seat my dear." Lucy nodded politely and did what was told. Meanwhile, the pink haired man tried to escape the room. It was clear Makarov was not going to let that happen.

"No running away, Natsu." Makarov said. He spoke louder and in a tone more harsh then he'd did before, when talking to Lucy. So that was his name, Lucy thought. _Natsu._ With a groan Natsu walked back and placed himself next to the blonde.

"I'm sorry to have summon you like this today." Makarov, or Mister Dreyar in Lucy's mind, looked her straight in her chocolate brown eyes.

"It's alright, sir. I was just surprised." Lucy looked at the tanned man next to her. "This man here basically dragged me away from my house, so I didn't really know what to think."

"I didn't drag you! You were just slow. Had to do something." The pink-head shot back. "I was slow? You didn't even tell me where we were going. Do you honestly expect me to just willingly go with any stranger for no particular reason?" Her eyes could unleash fire. That's how she felt. A hot, sizzling fire. An angry feeling that was slithering in her veins for awhile now. The magnificence of the house numbed it at first.

"Kids, kids, please." The short, elderly man interrupted the two. Perhaps he was afraid a real fist fight would break out if they continued arguing.

"First, Natsu I told you to be a gentleman. The young lady doesn't seem very pleased with you right now." Natsu shot an angry glare to the old man. "Well whatever. She's a weirdo. I've been a perfect gentleman." Lucy sweat dropped hearing that, but she let it go.

"Second, miss Heartfilia. May I call you Lucy." The busty blonde smiled. "Of course."

"Good. I brought you here today to ask you something important. Remember the conversation we had this morning? About the restaurant?" Lucy nodded carefully. She didn't really know what to expect with this story. "I thought about it. And yes, I realized I might be too old. But Natsu isn't."

"What do I have to do with this?" Natsu interrupted. Makarov let out a soft chuckle. "I have a proposal for the two of you." He looked at the pair with a serious look in his eyes. He didn't seem cold though. Just serious. Simply serious.

"I want you two to work together. As a team. I want you to come up with a menu. A menu for a family restaurant, with warm and homely dishes." Lucy bit her lip. She did not see this coming. Not at all.

"But sir, I'm not a chef or anything... So why are you asking me for this?" Lucy ask, with a hesitant tone in her voice. "Lucy, it's not like we have forgotten that wonderful audition you did for that job in the kitchen of one of Fairy Tail's restaurants." Makarov coughed and took a sip of his glass with an amber coloured liquid in it. "I thought you were a remarkable chef. Very talented. It's a shame we couldn't hire you. So when I saw you again today, I came up with this idea."

"What's the catch." Natsu said. Lucy had almost forgotten that that man was still in the room. Sitting next to her, awfully close now she's thinking about it.

"You'll have one month. Until the yearly banquet. There you'll show off what you came up with. If the guests enjoy your menu, I'll allow you to have your own restaurant. If not... Well lets say that you'd still be under Laxus' training, Natsu." Somehow, those words seem to provoke the pink-head. He stood up, an energetic aura flowing around him.

"My own restaurant? Getting away from Laxus? Seems like my lucky day. I'm all fired up!" He said, well yelled, enthusiastically. "Luce, you're in as well right?" His onyx eyes met her gaze. Luce? Before she could even answer he ran up to mister Dreyar.

"We'll do it!" Natsu looked like a little boy with his excited attitude. He dragged the blonde with him. "Come on Luce! We have to start making plans!" And with that, the two stormed out of the room.

"Hehe, I think I made the right choice." Makarov mumbled softly with a content smile on his face.


	3. An early intrusion

**A/N: So I'm trying to make longer chapters. With a bit more detail, so that the story can be a tad deeper. We'll see how that goes. I find it weird to write in English. It's not extremely difficult (Though there will be tons of mistakes. I can feel it), it's just that it doesn't feel natural. Doesn't have that flow in it I guess. I'm too lazy to write it in my native language and translate it afterwards though. Too much work. So I guess this is fine for now. It might actually help me improve my English (And hopefully writing skills).**

 **I want to pick up the pace with NaLu development soon. I feel like they have to get to know each other better. To have a little heart to heart if you know what I mean. I'll try to put in a fluff moment or two the next chapter. We'll see !**

 **I hope you guys enjoy chapter number 3!**

 _Chapter 3_

"So how about we get together tomorrow?"Natsu asked enthusiastically.

"I never even said yes! Besides, I have a job. I can't just abandon it!" Lucy huffed.

"If I'll take care of your job, will you say yes?" The blonde looked at the guy in front of her. They were standing in the great hallway of the mansion. Makarov's mansion. That was what Lucy thought. She bit her lip softly, thinking what she should do. The offer was certainly tempting. Giving her the chance finally do what she always wanted to do. To cook, to think of new dishes. To make people feel happy with her food. Money was quite an issue in her life and she knew she couldn't quit her job like that. There was rent to pay and a ton of bills. Life surely isn't easy.

"If you do... How are you going to do that? And how will I be able to pay my rent?" The blonde stated, watching the man carefully. He grinned. There was something mischievous about it.

"It's no problem. Gramps already took care of it. He's the big boss afterall."He put his coat on and started walking towards the exit of the mansion. "Besides, we wouldn't let you do all this for free. Of course you'll be getting paid silly!" He gave her a small nudge, to make the blonde come with him. She quickly followed him. The girl didn't want to get left behind.

"Ah..." She didn't really know what to say. Somehow, it still felt to good to be true. But she might as well take the risk. It was probably her only shot at doing anything food related in her life in the first place. Letting it go would be a waste.

"You're such a weirdo." Natsu noted when he saw the look on Lucy's face. Overwhelmed and spacing out, lost in her own mind. On the way back, Natsu was a more of a gentleman he was before. Gentleman wasn't the right word. Let's just say he was less of a creepy kidnapper and more... an overly excited young child. Lucy already felt sorry for herself, regretting not actually declining the offer, having to team up with a child, but hey. She'd survive. She always did. He brought her home, as it was already getting late, mentioning he'd pick her up next morning to work on their little project. He said they'd already had contact with Solano. The blonde was free to go and didn't have to go to work at Angel Feathers anymore.

She was finally home, after a long and strange day, It was exhausting for her. New things like this take up a lot of energy. Especially with her activities earlier that day at work. The water slowly filled up the bathtub and pink bubbles were floating on the surface. Lucy cautiously touched the water, not wanting to burn herself like she did last time. The water was the perfect temperature. She dipped her feet in and let herself sink in the warm, vanilla scented water. Humming, she closed her eyes and was finally able to relax. She wondered what was going to happen tomorrow. What working together with Natsu would be like. He didnt seme like such a bad person afterall. Lucy sure thought it'd be lively. He seemed so enthusiastic. So energized when hearing what the proposal was and what the cons were. He was all hyped up when mister Dreyar mentioned that Natsu would be able to get away from Laxus.

"I wonder what that means." She let out a soft sigh. She knew it wasn't any of her business, so why bother thinking about it. It simply intrigued her. Natsu was an interesting character. The young woman wanted to know more about him. His ways were strange and in a way fascinating.

When she finally got out of the white bathtub she went straight to bed. The poor girl was tired and desperately needed to sleep. It was hard not falling asleep in the water. When her head touched the pink, soft pillow she was out. On her way to the land of dreams.

this rest didn't seem to be that long. At least, not as long as she wanted it to be. Yet she was roughly interrupted by loud banging on the door.

"Luce!" That voice sounded awfully familiar. Glancing at her alarmclock, she noticed that it was onley 6:30. She groaned. Great. Rubbing her sleepy eyes and yawning, very unlady like she found her way to her front door. She abruptly pulled the old, wooden door open and she saw a certain pink-head appear. His hands in a position as if he was about to knock again.

"Finally!" The man cried out happily. Lucy wondered how he could be this happy and alive at this hour of the day.

"What are you doing this early? And could you stop yelling in the hallway please? I have neighbours." Lucy hissed. She didn't to put that much poison in her voice. She simply wasn't much of a morning person.

"Jeez, chill Luce." Natsu mumbled as he entered the small one bedroom apartment in which Lucy lived. The blonde sighed.

"I thought you were going to pick me up at 10. You're way too early!"Natsu scratched his head and laughed sheepishly.

"I know. I just couldn't sleep anymore and I was bored." Lucy stared at the man.

"So you think it's okay to bother me at this hour of day just because you were bored."She carefully rephrased what Natsu was saying.

"Yes. What else?" Lucy sighed.

"Couldn't you bother someone else? Or entertain yourself? I was still sleeping you know." Lucy did her best to not raise her voice. She could've known Natsu was such a frustrating person at times. Their first meeting said enough about that anyway.

"But we're a team now. So it's only logical to go to you." Lucy wondered how those words rolled off his mouth so easily. She decided to let it go. It already happened. Nothing she could do about it right now. She just realized she was still wearing her pyama's. Natsu's unexpected visit didn't provide her the time to get dressed. The blonde turned around and headed towards the small bedroom.

"Uhm... I'm going to get dressed. Since I obviously hadn't had the time for that. Just... wait here okay?" Without bothering to wait for an answer she entered her bedroom and closed the door. Her mind still not fully awake, the girl just pulled out a random outfit from her closet. It was just work so she didn't feel the need to look extra cute. Pretty clothing would most likely get ruined anyway. She looked at herself in the mirror. She ended up with tight, darkblue jeans and a simple, tight fitted t-shirt. She decided it was good enough. While quickly brushing her hair, not bothering to put on make up today, she walked back to the main room where Natsu was.

She didn't quite expect to see this though.

The tanned man was going through her fridge, with a mouthful food.

"Oh Luce! This is really good! Did you make this?" The blonde facepalmed.

"Natsu! Why are you emptying my fridge?"Natsu looked at her happily.

"I was hungry. And I swear this is one of the best things I've ever eaten." He showed her the container he was currently eating from. There were leftovers she made earlier this week. A simple spicy curry dish.

"Just... use a plate next time, Natsu." She didn't quite expect the compliment. She didn't cook for other people in general. Especially not after her failed audition. "Thanks by the way." The girl muttered.

"Can we put this on the menu?" He asked. "I'm sure everyone will love it. Never expected you to be able to cook this well."

"We'll keep it in mind... Let's just make a planning first though. Otherwise it'd be a mess." She looked around, wondering what she wanted to do in the kitching. Ah, coffee!

"I'm going to make coffee. Would you like a cup?"She asked, trying to be friendly. Natsu shook his head. "No thanks. I don't really like the bitter taste of it. I don't need it anyway." Lucy agreed to that. He really didn't need it. He was like an explosion of energy and hyperactivity. He'd probably go insane drinking coffee. She found this part adoring. It had something that sparked up her interest. Quickly she waved her thoughts away and made herself a big mug of coffee. She had the feeling she was going to need it today.

After breakfast, Natsu decided to bring Lucy to the office. It wasn't far away at all. It was only 10 minutes with the car. When they got out, Lucy noticed it was a huge skyscraper. The Fairy Tail logo decorated the building gracefully.

"You ready to get to business?" Natsu said, with his signature grin plastered on his face.

"Yes! Lets do this." Lucy said cheerfully. It seemed that hanging around Natsu had something infectious to it. Lucy felt quite excited to start this new project. He really was rubbing off on her, only after a few hours. It really wasn't that bad. Lucy thought it would be fun.

As they entered the building, a lot of people greeted Natsu. He was the adopted grandson of Makarov Dreyar after all. Lucy didn't really know anything about him aside that. Well, that he's a bit of an idiot. A happy idiot though. She recognized a few faces. Some of them were renowned in the culinary industry. It was to be expected of Fairy Tail. They only hire the best they can get. The duo arrived on the fourth floor. Natsu led her to a small room. It had a kitchen in it, and an old desk. It wasn't much, but Lucy loved it. It looked cozy. It felt better than those huge kitchens she'd seen before on television, in an item about the Fairy Tail company. They didn't show this though. They must have thought it wasn't impressive enough.

"Okay, so this isn't much but... Gramps said we could make our things here." Lucy smiled.

"I love it actually. It's perfect." Natsu looked at her with a surprised look on his face. "You really think so?" The blonde nodded, content.

"Oh by the way, the fridge and freezer is stocked and we can use anything we like from the storage on this floor." Natsu added.

"That's great, Natsu. That will make it alot easier. So... Before we get started with creating the menu... I'd like to make a plan first. So we know what we're doing." And so the pair began their teamwork. Lucy ended up making the planning all by herself. Natsu was playing with food and throwing in a comment every now and then. She didn't mind. To be honest, even though she might not admit it right away, she had fun. Natsu made working so much more fun. He could be a pain in the ass, especially when he broke a plate or two, but it was alright. It didn't matter.

They were done by the end of the day. A full planning, containing idea's with what they should cook. Lucy quickly mailed it to Makarov, to show the progress the two have made before she left.

Natsu dropped her off again, since Lucy didn't own a car and public transportation was absolutely horrible in this city. She was about to get out of the car, when Natsu said something.

"Hey Luce. Thanks... You know for accepting and helping me out. I had fun today." The pink haired man looked a little embarassed and looked away. Lucy smiled.

"I had fun as well. See you tomorrow, Natsu!"

 **Have you guys heart the terrible news? Allan Rickman has passed away today. I really liked him as an actor, he was excellent at what he did. Rest in peace sir :( I'll think of you.**


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